Door



July 2, 1963 R. E. FORD 3,095,952

DOOR

Filed Nov. 20. 1959 IN V EN TOR.

1.545%? fara? rl BY VmuuL/ United States Patent O 3,095,952 DOR Ralph E. Ford, Harper Woods, Mich., assigner to William A. Temes Filed Nov. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 854,338 10 Claims. (Cl. 189-46) My invention relates to door constructions and is particularly concerned with door panels formed of sheet metal.

Door panels formed of sheet metal, such as sheet steel, are often objectionably noisy unless provided with a sound deadening means. One method of sound deadening has been to place a piece of cardboard or similar absorbent material on the back of the door panel. This expedient however cannot be used when the door panel is louvered since, in such a case, the cardboard could be seen through the louvers.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of my invention to provide a novel means for sound deadening metal door panels, particularly louvered door panels.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a means for improving the appearance of a door panel.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a means which performs the several functions of sound deadening the door panel, improving its appearance, and stiffening the panel.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel type of molding for a door and a unique way of attaching it to ythe door panel.

I achieve these and other objects of the invention by means of a trim strip of novel cross-sectional shape which is attached to the front of the door panel. This trim strip or lmolding is shaped in such a way that it contains but hides a strip `of non-metallic absorbent material, such as plastic, rubber, or paper. The molding holds this sound absorbent material tightly cornpressed against the surface of the door panel and this is effective in minimizing `or eliminating objectionable sounds and noises as well as in providing a pleasing external appearance to the rface of the door panel.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a set of folding doors embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the louvered section of one of the four door panels of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-section taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-section taken along the line `4 4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-section of `one-half of a molding or trim strip, shown in the unstressed condition prior to welding of the trim strip Ato the door panel.

The door lconstruction shown in FIG. 1 comprises two pairs of folding door sets, each set comprising door panels 1 and 3. Except for the hardware, these panels are identical. Their speciiic construction is shown in more detail in my Patent No. 2,898,987, issued August lil, 1959, and in my copending application Serial No. 676,075, iiled August 5, 1957, now Patent No. 2,943,675, issued July 5, 1960 which application also shows in FIGS. lOl-12 a louvered door construction which is the same in principle as that to be disclosed herein. Reference may be made to my patent and application for specific door construction and mounting features. The panels 1 and 3 are hinged together on their adjacent edges so that they can be folded together with one panel overlying the other, as partially appears in the right of FIG. l. The outermost of the panels is pivoted in the doorway so that each pair of panels can be pivoted and c lCe folded as a unitoutwardly to open up the full width of the doorway. The -longitudinal side edges of the panels are turned back under in channel-like formation as seen at 4.

The Idoor panels shown in FIG. 1 have louvers 5 formed in the upper halves, `the lower halves being imperforate. The louvers 5 are desirably of the shape and configuration revealed in FIGS. 2-4. As can -be seen there, the bottom edge 7 of each louver is 4slit and then pressed rearwardly away from the front or outer face 9 0f the panel, a pleasing curved appearance being given to the body of the louver as seen at 11. The opposite ends of the louvers are `curved as seen at 13 inwardly as they go from the bottom edge of the louver to the top portion thereof as delined by the line 15 of bending. It will be noted that this formation of the louvers leaves a narrow strip of material 17 between the edge 19 of the opening left by the adjacent louver and the line of bending 15. At the ends or edges of the louver ythe narrow strip 17 expands, or is widened, as the ends 13 curve away from the line 15 toward the lower edge 7 of the louver, thus leaving more or less triangularly shaped areas 20.

The vertical molding strips 21 are shown in FIGS. 2-5 and the horizontal strips 22 are of the same construction. The molding strips that are used on the louvered upper portion and the unlouvered lower portion of the door are identical. The strips are symmetrical `about their mid-plane so that the half-section of FIG. 5 is vsu-liicient to reveal the details of their construction. As will `be seen, the molding has a central at portion 23 which is adapted to be pressed flat against the face or surface of the `door panel and be spot welded to it, as shown at the places marked with an X and some of which are identified by the numeral 25. Outwardly and on either side of the central portion 23 the molding is flanged upwardly in a short section 27 and then extends upwardly on an incline in a section 2.9, the outermost leg portion 31 of the molding is ibent `downwardly at `corner 312 on an angle to the section 29, this angle preferably being somewhat less `than with the plane of the central section 23, as can be seen in FIG. 5. An important feature is the fact that the end of the :outer leg section 31 extends a distance 33 below the bottom face of the center section 23 as is clear-ly evident in FIG. 5, which figure shows the preferred dimensional proporportions for the cross section. It will Ibe seen that when the flat central section 23 is spot Welded at 25 to the sections 20 of the door panel it will lbe necessary to force it through the distance 33. This will be aecommodated by some bending of the legs 31 and 29, probably to change the angle 32 between them and to reduce the volume of space 34 below the two legs 31 and 29.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a sound absorbent non-metallic material 3S in the space 34 and preferably extending for the full length of the molding element 21.. While certain advantages of the invention may be obtained by the use of materials such as paper, sponge rubber, a hollow rubber tube, etc., I prefer to use a plastic material. I have found that a thermoplastic resin, such as polybutene, poly-iso-butene, butyl rubber, `or asphalt, `along with inert fill-ers or pigments is very desirable. In particular I have been satisfied with a material known on the open market as No. 5021 Mortite which is a synthetic resin plastic sealer extruded to a speciiic size. I prefer to use a round rodlike ext-rustion and I prefer it to be of the same diameter as the overall height of the molding 21, that is the total height of the leg 31, since with this arrangement 'the material 35 projects lbelow the bottom of the leg for a substantial distance as shown in FIG. 5. Mortite and similar materials are 'permanently pliable and retain their plasticity and adhesive properties indefinitely; they remain pliable at temperatures near zero and retain their adhesion even at elevated temperatures. This material has the solvents driven off prior to application hence there -is nothing to be driven out to make it become brittle upon heating. This is important since I intend to apply the molding prior to painting of `the door.

As can be seen by comparison of FIGS. 4 and 5, after the trim strip 21 has been spot welded at points 25 to the sections 19 of the door panel the space 34 will be reduced in volume. The protruding section of the plastic 35 which extends below the bottom face of the section 23 of the molding in FIG. 5 will be compressed and forced to flow at other points within the space 34 to provide the arrangement shown in FIG. 4.

I apply the trim strip 21 to the particular location on the door panel face 9 shown best in FIG. 2, that is so that the central section 23 overlies the sections 20 of the door panel. In this location the sound deadening strips 35, on the inside leg, are in engagement with the thin transverse strip sections 17 of the door panel and act effectively to deaden these sections and prevent them from vibrating or causing noise. Also, the sections 17 will tend to embed themselves in the bottom portion of the absorbent material 35 when the molding and absorbent material is applied to the face of the panel. Thus, the material 35 will act in this manner, along with its natural adhesive properties to hold the molding in po-sition during the spot welding operation. As indicated above, the moldingr with the plastic material 35 inside is spot welded to the door panel prior to painting. After it has been attached the door may be painted and baked in a paint drying oven. It will be appreciated that it is a considerable advantage to be able to apply the molding prior to painting, rather than after the painting operation has been completed.

It will now be apparent that by means of the trim strips 21 I have provided the door panels 1 and 3 with a pleasing, attractive appearance. In addition, by using them to support a sound deadening material 35 I have provided a means extending `over a substantial part of the door panel for absorbing noise and elimina-ting vibrations. This means is effective on both louvered and unlouvered door areas. The unusual construction arrangement of the molding itself and its location on the door panel provides an improved means of attachment of the molding to the door panel. From the manufacturing standpoint, the arrangement is such that the parts can be applied to the unfinished door and then the entire assembly painted and baked. This is in contrast with the use of a wood molding strip which must be cemented on to the finished or painted door and in the course of drying could be damaged, or damage the appearance of the door.

I have illustrated the preferred embodiments and disclosed preferred materials, but it will be apparent that modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. `For example, if only sound deadening is desired it would be possible -to appl-y the trim strips with material 35 to the back of the door panel. Further, the trim strips can be used with louvers of different configuration (square ends, for example) and with fully louvered or even unlouvered door panels.

I claim:

1. A decorative steel door construction comprising a front panel member, a louvered section formed in said panel member, a plurality of louvers integrally formed in said louvered section of said panel member, moulding strip means secured to said panel member around said louvered section, said moulding strip means comprising a pair of spaced wing portions, a central web portion connecting said wing portions, said wing portions defining longitudinally extending grooves on each side of said central web portion, said moulding strip means being connected to said panel member through said central web portion, the ends of said wing portions being reversely bent and extending outwardly beyond the plane of said central web portion opposite Vsaid grooves whereby when said central web portion is secured to said panel member said wing portions will be resiliently outwardly flexed to obtain a tight sound deadening engagement between said wing portions and said panel member, said central web portion `being fastened to said panel member between said louvers along the side edges thereof, one of said wing portions being located to engage said louvers adjacent said panel member, and the lother of said Wing portions being located to engage said panel member adjacent said louvers.

2. The steel door construction as defined in claim 1 and wherein non-metallic sound deadening means are provided in said grooves and compacted into engagement with said panel member and said louvers by said wing portions.

3. In a metal door panel for use in a folding door arrangement or the like, a door panel body having a front surface normally viewable in use and a rear surface, a metallic moulding means mounted on said front surface of said panel body and forming a combination decorative trim strip and sound deadening barrier, an outer decorative surface and an inner surface provided on said moulding means, sound deadening door panel engaging means formed along the inner surface of said moulding means, fastening means to rigidly secure said moulding means to said door body and to rigidly engage said sound deadening means with said door body, and sound absorbent means mounted between said metallic moulding means and said door panel body and being completely enclosed by portions of the inner surface of said metallic moulding means and the adjacent surface of said door panel body and being forceably compacted by said fastening means between said metallic moulding means and said door panel body.

4. In a folding metal door or the like, a metallic door body panel having 4a front surface normally viewable in use and a rear surface, moulding strip means having a decorative outer side surface and an inner side surface, groove means forming a packing cavity in said moulding strip means along the inner side surface thereof, deformable packing means mounted in said packing cavity, and fastening means to fixedly secure said moulding strip means to said front surface of said door body ina decorative pattern and to deform said packing means in said packing cavity and to bring the inner side surface of said moulding strip means adjacent said packing groove into surface engagement with the adjacent surface of said door body to completely enclose said packing means relative to said front surface.

5. A metallic door construction having front and rear surfaces, moulding strip means secured to at least one of said surfaces to form a decorative pattern and sound deiadening barrier, said moulding str-ip means comprising a base portion and resilient cantilever means integrally conneoted thereto and extending outwardly therefrom, a packing cavity formed by said resilient cantilever means, deformable packing means receivable in said packing cavity, a substantially continuous door engaging surface provided on said resilient cantilever means outwardly beyond said packing cavity away from said base portion, and fastening means to secure said base pon-tion to said door, said substantially continuous door engaging surface being offset relative to said base portion toward said one of said surfaces before said base portion is secured to said door by said fastening means and being resiliently engaged with said door and displaced toward said base portion substantially into 1the plane of said base portion during securement lthereof to said door, said continuous door engaging surface forming a complete enclosure for said packing means when said base portion is secured to said door and the resilient engagement of said continuous door engaging surface with said door causing deformation of said packing means within said packing cavity.

6. A deconative metal door construction comprising a front panel member, a louver section formed on said front panel member, said louver section being formed by a series of decorative louvers integrally formed in said louvered section of said panel member, metal moulding means secured to said panel member [and forming a decorative trim strip and sound deadening barrier around the periphery of said louver section, fastening means securing said moulding means Ito said front panel member, sound d-ampening means formed on said metal moulding means by resilient cantilever means resiliently engaged with said front panel portion, and non-metallic sound absorbent means provided between said resilient cantilever means and said front panel member, said sound dampening means being mounted on said front panel member to compact said sound absorbent means between said resilient cantilever means and said front panel member.

7. A metal door construction having front and rear panels, metal moulding means forming a decorative trim strip and sound deadening barrier on at least one of said panels, means secuning said metal moulding means to said one of said panels, a packing cavity formed in the rear surface of said metal moulding means facing said one of said panels, panel engaging surfaces provided at the sides of said packing cavity to completely enclose said packing cavity by surface engagement between said one of said panels and the panel engaging surfaces, deformable sound absorbent packing means mounted in said packing cavity, and packing engaging and deforming means provided on said metal moulding means and being operative when said metal moulding means is secured to and said panel engaging surfaces are engaged with said one of said panels to deform and compact said packing means in said packing cavity, said packing means being confined within said packing cavity between said one of said panels and said panel engaging surfaces.

8. A metal door construction having front and rear panels, metal moulding means forming a decorative trim strip and a sound deadening barrier on at least one of said panels, fastening means securing said metal moulding means to said one of said panels, a packing cavity formed along the rear surface of said metal moulding means facing said one of said panels, panel engaging surfaces provided at the sides of said packing cavity to completely enclose said packing cavity by surface engagement between said one of said panels and the panel engaging surfaces, deformable sound absorbent packing means mounted in said packing cavity, and resilient cantilever means provided on said moulding means and being engageable with said packing means when said metal moulding means is secured Ito said one of said panels to deform and compact said packing means in said packing cavity.

9. A metal door construction comprising a panel member, moulding means forming a decorative trim strip and sound deadening barrier secured centnally of said panel member, said moulding means comprising a pair of spaced wing portions, a central web portion connecting said wing portions, said wing portions defining longitudinally extending -grooves on each side of said central web portion, 'said moulding strip being connected to said panel member through said central web portion, and the ends of said wing portions being bent and extending outwardly beyond the plane of said central web portion opposite said grooves toward said panel member whereby as said central web portion ris secured to said panel member said wing portions will be resiliently exed outwardly to obtain a tight sound deadening engagement with said panel member.

10. The metal door construction as defined in claim 9 and wherein non-metallic sound deadening means are provided in said grooves and compacted into engagement with said panel member by said wing portions.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,931,125 Balduf Oct. 12, 1933 2,156,669 Van Uum May 2, 1939 2,282,946 De R00 Mlay 12, 1942 2,557,502 Goettl Iune 19, 1951 2,583,78-1 Lindsay Jan. 29, 1952 2,602,182 Johnson July 8, 1952 2,698,269 Sussenbach Dec. 28, 1954 2,837,183 Heiman lnne 3, 1958 2,922,202 Kodaras l an. 26, 1960 2,962,956 Maggar Dec. 6, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 27,067 Great Britain Dec. 14, 1908 563,000 Great Britain July 25, 1944 

1. A DECORATIVE STEEL DOOR CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A FRONT PANEL MEMBER, A LOUVERED SECTION FORMED IN SAID PANEL MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF LOUVERS INTEGRALLY FORMED IN SAID LOUVERED SECTION OF SAID PANEL MEMBER, MOULDING STRIP MEANS SECURED TO SAID PANEL MEMBER AROUND SAID LOUVERED SECTION, SAID MOULDING STRIP MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED WING PORTIONS, A CENTRAL WEB PORTION CONNECTING SAID WING PORTIONS, SAID WING PORTIONS DEFINING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING GROOVES ON EACH SIDE OF SAID CENTRAL WEB PORTION, SAID MOULDING STRIP MEANS BEING CONNECTED TO SAID PANEL MEMBER THROUGH SAID CENTRAL WEB PORTION, THE ENDS OF SAID WING PORTIONS BEING REVERSELY BENT AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE PLANE OF SAID CENTRAL WEB PORTION OPPOSITE SAID GROOVES WHEREBY WHEN SAID CENTRAL WEB PORTION IS SECURED TO SAID PANEL MEMBER SAID WING PORTIONS WILL BE RESILIENTLY OUTWARDLY FLEXED TO OBTAIN A TIGHT SOUND DEADENING ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID WING PORTIONS AND SAID PANEL MEMBER, SAID CENTRAL WEB PORTION BEING FASTENED TO SAID PANEL MEMBER BETWEEN SAID LOUVERS ALONG THE SIDE EDGES THEREOF, ONE OF SAID WING PORTIONS BEING LOCATED TO ENGAGE SAID LOUVERS ADJACENT SAID PANEL MEMBER, AND THE OTHER OF SAID WING PORTIONS BEING LOCATED TO ENGAGE SAID PANEL MEMBER ADJACENT SAID LOUVERS. 